Books by Audrey Friend, Robert Godwin,Mariana Heusler, Herbert Hocking

BOOKS by ROBERT GODWIN

BULLETS, BOOZE & BABES-Friendship, family and love are complicated things. Casey Stone had just finished a case that involved a lost little girl and now his friend Carl had just asked for his help in the rescue of his nieces—eleven-year-old twins—kidnapped in East Tennessee. Casey finds himself in the middle of a deadly feud between two families—rivals in the local moonshine business. The twins are hostages in a battle for turf in the liquor war being waged by the locals and outside mobs. Hidden away in the hills of East Tennessee, the girls’ lives are in jeopardy. The search becomes desperate because one of the girls is in fragile health. Casey Stone goes up against a murderous clan to save the children of a family he has come to love and respect.

CAPER ON THE COAST-Casey Stone is getting over a broken hip, broken leg, three broken ribs, and a punctured lung which as he says “took a big chunk out of 1957.” He never said being a PI was easy. Now his agency’s biggest client, World’s Best Insurance has a problem, loss claims have skyrocketed. The reason seems to be a rash of burglaries and petty crimes that have escalated to rape and murder along the New York and New Jersey coasts. The local police agencies in the little towns have been overwhelmed by the crime wave. World’s Best Insurance has sent their man, Henshaw , to hire Casey to investigate the crimes and work with the different police departments to catch the crooks. Casey is reluctant to take a job which will keep him away from his business for a few weeks, but the large fee and the fact that he has family on the Jersey shore wins him over. Besides his “bombshell” assistant, Chiquita Rodriquez, practically runs everything already. So he’s off to Barnegat, NJ and his old childhood bedroom at his Aunt Margaret’s house. Of course Casey Stone won’t be returning to the innocence of his childhood. There are plenty of beautiful babes along the way—shady crooks, Mob threats and a psychopath or two to deal with. But Casey is determined to keep his family safe and get justice for the innocent victims along the coast that is so close to his heart.

BOOKS by MARIANNA HEUSLER

MURDER AT ST. POLYCARP-When seventh-grade teacher Mildred Pinkerton is found dead before first period, it's another headache for St. Polycarp's beleaguered principal, Father Felix. Especially when two teachers suspect Mildred was murdered. They've got an empty bottle of pills and a motive: Miss Pinkerton was suspicious of something-or someone-rotten at the school. The victim had requested a meeting to discuss an important matter. Instead, she ended up facedown in her morning coffee. Searching for clues, Julia Hopwood and Amelia Johnston try to connect a series of strange events. The cookie sale money is missing; there's a suspicious new math teacher; and another teacher is hiding a criminal past. When a second death occurs, it's clear a killer plans to teach a lesson in murder that St. Polycarp won't soon forget. a little more about you.

CAPPUCCINO AT THE CRYPT-Father Felix, Head master and parish priest at St. Polycarp Church and school is on his way to Palermo, Sicily with a wild bunch of teenage girls from St. Hilda's school. He is sharing chaperone duties with Amelia Johnston and Julia Hopwood, both teachers at St. Polycarp and incorrigible amateur detectives, or snoopy busy-bodies in father Felix's mind, who credit themselves with solving the recent murder of Ms. Pinkerton at St. Polycarp School. Ms. Johnston and Ms. Hopwood think their trip is just an exciting week away during the long summer break and the pay is good, but Father Felix is on a mission and it could be dangerous. A confession of a terrible secret haunts him. He cannot break the confessional bond but volunteered for the trip to Sicily with his teachers to try to right a wrong. The secret is buried in the famous crypts in Palermo where the gruesome displays of dead bodies and dead priests are not for the faint-hearted. Father Felix only hopes that he doesn't end up in the collection and Ms. Johnston and Ms. Hopwood only hope they don't end up spending more time with the loutish girls from St. Hilda's.

NO END TO TROUBLE-Father Felix, Head master and parish priest at St. Polycarp Church and school has been called to serve the Vatican in Rome. Although a great honor for Father Felix, it has less than happy consequences for his loyal teachers and staff at St. Polycarp elementary school. The new Principal is a Mrs. Logan formerly from St. Judes. She’s a severe, no-nonsense administrator who has a strict code of conduct for the teachers. Sensible shoes, conservative clothes, hair kept up in a ponytail to avoid head-lice and no chocolate. For Mrs. Hopwood, a flashy dresser, stiletto heel fan and a chocolate lover the news is terrible. She and her fellow teacher, Mrs. Johnson, are filled with dread. To make matters worse, Mrs. Logan is bringing in new teachers, a new secretary—Miss Turnipseed who has a decidedly un-friendly attitude—and new assignments—different grade levels. Horrifying! Mrs. Hopwood is moving from the sweet security of the second grade to the scary prepubescence of the fifth. Dreadful!The two friends and amateur sleuths—or busy bodies in Father Felix’s opinion—have faced many trials at St. Polycarp—the dreadful murder of a seventh grade teacher before class and a summer school field trip to Sicily with a group of obnoxious girls from St. Hilda’s where the killer who stalked them through the catacombs was almost as scary as their charges. So when a cafeteria lady dies mysteriously during Parents’ night, Mrs. Hopwood and Mrs. Johnson have a dual mission—to find a sadistic murderer without getting fired—or killed.

TROUBLE PURSE SUED-After an unfortunate turn of events at St. Polycarp, Mrs. Johnson has been appointed as the interim principal of the school. At first the thought of being the principal was exciting, but the reality of dealing with a budget that didn't begin to cover the school's expenses, demanding parents, a clique of disrespectful teachers and recalcitrant students had wrung every bit of patience and good humor from her psyche. The prospect that her role might become permanent deeped her anxiety but then she learned that she might end up with no job at all. Apparently the archdiocese was deciding whether to close St. Polycarp for good. It seemed that fund-raising was going to be critical—thousands of dollars—and she didn't think that the children's sales of chocolate bars was going to keep St. Polycarp's doors open. That's why when Mrs. Hopwood, her best friend and sleuthing partner in solving a series of unfortunate—murderous events—offers to donate some vintage clothing and accessories she recently inherited from her aunt Eunice to raise money for the school, Mrs. Johnson agrees. The catch—a fashion show with students as the models—flyers, catalogues, online bids—another grand scheme hatched by Mrs. Hopwood that only gives Mrs. Johnson a bigger migraine and in true St. Polycarp fashion spurs a series of unfortunate events.

ONE STONE LEFT UNTURNED-is a mystery with a link to another mystery—the disappearance of a Russian Czar and his family at the beginning of the 20th century and a death in a church scheduled for demolition a hundred years later.In parallel stories two young women struggle with family, authorities and events out of their control. One is Tatiana Romanov, daughter of Nicholas, the last Czar of Russia and the other, an awkward young girl in New York City who has troubles in school and at home. Her only comfort is her loving, eccentric grandmother and the quiet of an old church.The link that connects them is a stone—a precious stone with magical powers—a stone that has survived through the ages impacting each life it touches in mysterious ways.

NEW SERIES! MRS. PEABODY'S PARTY LINE-A HONEY SPOON MURDER MYSTERY -In 1957, the town of Honeyspoon is ill prepared for a murder mystery. In fact, most of the townspeople have never experienced a violent death until a shocking murder in the small town sets everyone on edge. That death and the natural snoopiness of an elderly woman—Mrs. Nancy Peabody, a known busybody and gossip hound—motivates Mrs. Peabody to investigate.

Mrs. Peabody is a widow of very limited means. Her life is drab and lonely so she can’t avoid the temptation offered by the party line she shares with two of her neighbors. When someone calls the line, it rings once, twice or three times to designate which household the call is for, but anyone on the party line can pick up and listen to any of the calls and Mrs. Peabody can’t resist picking up on every call. Unfortunately, listening in on her neighbors’ calls is tricky. If you don’t pick up just right, the other parties can hear a click and they know someone is listening and of course any background noise is a dead give-a-way. Since Mrs. Peabody’s technique wasn’t always perfect, her reputation as a snoop was common knowledge. As she sticks her nose into the murderers’ business, the body count starts to rise and Mrs. Peabody becomes the killer’s target.

Check out an interview with Marianna on Sleuth CafeJune 9, 201http://sleuthcafe.com/2016/06/09/interview-with/u to te

MURDER AT ST. POLYCARP and CAPPUCCINO AT THE CRYPT , NO END TO TROUBLE , TROUBLE PURSE SUED are also Worldwide Mystery titles. Trouble Purse Sued will be a Halequin Mystery selection this year.

SANDGROPER PYRAMID-The Great White is trolling the surf along Shark Bay off the coast of Western Australia. Suddenly she senses a vibration and moves toward something that could be a small seal. She makes a probing bite, not an all out snapping and shaking motion, but a nice slice—a taste. But sadly the taste is bitter, sour—she let’s go and moves on. Sam Rhys has two problems. Custody of a suspicious sealed package found floating in the ocean near a friend’s cray traps and a job offer from a set of mysterious clients—who communicate only through a laptop in an abandoned office building—to do an undercover investigation of a prominent businessman in Perth. Sam is just coming up on his break at the University, in fact he was administering final exams when the call came from Alex Rosen, his best friend, with the job proposal. At first he is a little hesitant, but the former San Francisco homicide cop is bored and the offer proves too bizarre to pass up. Sam Rhys, who we first met in Sandgroper Desecrations, is off on another adventure with his best girl Martha—the statuesque Greek blonde, his friend Alex, and the unusual characters that live in the rugged outback of Australia. Herbert Hocking has created a brilliant sequel to the mesmerizing adventures of Sam Rhys in the breathtaking landscape of western Australia.

SANDGROPER SEARCH-The Great White is trolling the surf along Shark Bay off the coast of Western Australia. Suddenly she senses a vibration and moves toward something that could be a small seal. She makes a probing bite, not an all out snapping and shaking motion, but a nice slice—a taste. But sadly the taste is bitter, sour—she let’s go and moves on. Sam Rhys has two problems. Custody of a suspicious sealed package found floating in the ocean near a friend’s cray traps and a job offer from a set of mysterious clients—who communicate only through a laptop in an abandoned office building—to do an undercover investigation of a prominent businessman in Perth. Sam is just coming up on his break at the University, in fact he was administering final exams when the call came from Alex Rosen, his best friend, with the job proposal. At first he is a little hesitant, but the former San Francisco homicide cop is bored and the offer proves too bizarre to pass up. Sam Rhys, who we first met in Sandgroper Desecrations, is off on another adventure with his best girl Martha—the statuesque Greek blonde, his friend Alex, and the unusual characters that live in the rugged outback of Australia. Herbert Hocking has created a brilliant sequel to the mesmerizing adventures of Sam Rhys in the breathtaking landscape of western Australia.

SANDGROPER STALKER-Sam Rhys, a former San Francisco Homicide Inspector now a political science professor at the University in Perth on the western coast of Australia where the locals are referred to as 'Sandgropers,' is happy. Happy to be termed a 'Sandgroper.' Happy to be in this sunny, laid-back land near his friend from college, Alex Rosen. Happy to be in love with Martha Malaxos, Sam's personal, tall, blonde Greek goddess. Happy to be away from his past life especially since the particularly heartbreaking murder of a little girl drove him from San Francisco years ago. But as Sam knows, the ugly side of life seems to haunt him even in his little paradise. He has been pulled into numerous investigations since discovering a serial killer and bringing him to justice. Now his skills are sought for strange deaths and strange events. Even the aborigines consider him their resource and it is a note passed to him from one of them that leads him to start a search for two young men who have gone Jackarooing and are now missing. Sam discovers that a predator is stalking the outback and until he can trap him, no one will be safe. Once again, Sam and his friends will risk their lives to bring a killer to justice.

SANDGROPER MINT SWINDLE-Sam Rhys, a former San Francisco Homicide Inspector now a political science professor at the University in Perth on the western coast of Australia where the locals are referred to as 'Sandgropers,' is happy. Happy to be termed a 'Sandgroper.' Happy to be in this sunny, laid-back land near his friend from college, Alex Rosen. Happy to be in love with Martha Malaxos, Sam's personal, tall, blonde Greek goddess. Happy to be away from his past life especially since the particularly heartbreaking murder of a little girl drove him from San Francisco years ago. But as Sam knows, the ugly side of life seems to haunt him even in his little paradise. He has been pulled into numerous investigations since discovering a serial killer and bringing him to justice. This time it’s a dead bloke and the mysterious possessions he kept in a secret safe that start Sam on a journey that begins with a photo taken from space and ends with one of the most diabolically sinister plots in Australian history.

STORMS AND SHADOWS-When Daryl Webber finds the body of a derelict in his boat yard, he is shocked. The man's head has been caved in, the attack so vicious that Daryl has a hard time comprehending the event. Against the wishes of his sister, also his partner, Daryl has allowed the destitute man to live in the boat yard and make use of the facilities used by the yard's workmen. When Daryl tries to learn the identity of the poor man, he is first rebuffed by the San Francisco Police Department, then the coroner's office. With the reluctant help of a computer hacker friend of his, Daryl learns the man's name, that he was military, and that his fingerprints are classified.

BOOKS by HERBERT HOCKING:

SANDGROPER DESECRATIONS-Sam Rhys is still haunted by one of his cases-the brutal rape and murder of a little girl-when he was a homicide detective in San Francisco years ago. Her killer left her twisted in a pathetic pose of a damaged doll. The crime scene so horrific that seasoned investigators couldn't bear to look at her body unless they imagined her—a mangled mannequin, not a real flesh and blood little girl. Sam and his partner, Mike Patrick, became obsessed with finding the killer and when the case ran cold-completely cold-both men experienced a personal crisis. Sam's failure to capture the murderer led him to give up police work and follow his best friend, Alex Rosen, to Australia and to a new life as a college professor in Perth. But when a newspaper article about the killing of a little Aborigine girl in Broome-a city in Northwestern Australia-catches Sam's eye, his gut is certain that the killer from all those years ago in San Francisco is back in his sights. Sam's hunt is an incredible odyssey through the cities and peoples of Western Australia as he tracks a vicious killer from one victim to another. Sandgroper Desecrations by Herbert Hocking is the first in a series of mysteries featuring Sam Rhys and set in the memorable vistas of Western Australia. Sam's next Australian mystery is chronicled in Sandgroper Pyramid..